Screenin.me, a cloud-based screening tool, wants to take the stigma away from reporting Covid-19 symptoms at work.
Companies preparing to return to the workplace at the moment are required to adhere to the Government’s Return to Work Safely Protocol. It stipulates that to move back into the office, businesses must take particular actions to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 as much as possible. This includes nominating a lead worker representative, creating detailed procedures for responding to suspected cases, and implementing physical distancing, staggered lunch breaks and more.
Bringing staff back to the workplace is no easy feat and will place additional pressures on leadership and management. But just as technology and online tools have helped us continue to work during the pandemic, they could make things simpler as we make our way back to the workplace.
One example is Screenin.me, a cloud-based platform through which employees can confidentially report Covid-19 symptoms to their employer. Developed by Irish start-up Eppione, its goal is to minimise staff exposure to the coronavirus and help contribute to a safer return to work.
Questions on the platform are defined by employers and completed by staff members before they leave each day, giving them the option to report their symptoms confidentially.
Employee responses are securely stored on an interface that only specific staff members can access. The information is processed in real time and shows statuses as ‘pass or fail’ instead of specific answers.
Co-founder and CEO of Eppione, David Kindlon, said: “The facilitation of confidential daily screening tools helps to create a safer work environment and gives employees and employers additional peace of mind while operating during a pandemic.
“When creating Screenin.me, we were very conscious of the stigma associated with Covid-19 and, therefore, employees being able to report test results and symptoms in confidence was a key priority for us.”
The company has made it clear that the cloud-based platform is not a single return-to-work solution, but is intended to work alongside physical measures and policies already put in place. These include return-to-work forms, which must be filled out at least three days before a staff member returns to work to confirm that they don’t have any Covid symptoms and are not meant to be self-isolating. Screenin.me aims to help automate this process.
“In addition to developing a Covid-19 return-to-work platform, we are also introducing a new, sophisticated reporting feature for Screenin.me, which will give businesses the ability to quickly access and report on data in line with HSE-approved protocols should a case arise or should they be required to produce that information,” Kindlon said.
“The Screenin.me platform is already in the UK, the US and Australia with 55 companies on board. We’re excited to begin rolling the platform out across Ireland and hope to help as many organisations as possible facilitate a safer, time-efficient working environment.”
Kindlon said he also hopes to roll out Screenin.me for schools and other education institutes.
